Please note that the summaries of news items posted on this page do not necessarily represent the official positions of CSU-ERFA or its affiliates.  Links contained within the summaries may take you to the original news sources.  CSU-ERFA is not responsible for the content of linked articles and cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of those articles.

 May 2012

 

April 2012

 

        March 2012

O, blest retirement! friend to life's decline - How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these, A youth of labor with an age of ease! ~Oliver Goldsmith

Volunteers Needed for Study of Pre- and Post-Retirement Professional Development Thomas Chan, a doctoral student at Claremont Graduate University, is undertaking a study of the connections between retired professors' past academic activities (teaching, research, advising) and current life.  He states that little is known about the issue. He is interested in understanding how past vocational activities and the current lives of retirees correlate. He hopes the results will help improve the quality of life of other retirees. CSU-ERFA members can participate by going to the following web site, http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/789305/Retired-Academics-Development-Survey The survey should take about 15-20 minutes. Chan states that all results are confidential.  Any identifying information collected such as name, email address, or IP address will never be associated with your survey response, and that the survey is completely voluntary, with no penalties associated with choosing not to participate. Chan has a Masters degree and is a Ph.D. student in positive development psychology at Claremont. His advisors are Drs. Jeanne Nakamura and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, co-directors of the Quality of Life Research Center at Claremont Graduate University. If there are any questions or concerns about the study, Chan may be contacted at thomas.chan@cgu.edu. _______________________

 

February 2012

One of the problems of retirement is that it gives you more time to read about the problems of retirement. ~Author unknown.

We have received the sad news that Max Norton (Stanislaus) passed away on February 21st.  Max was formerly a member of the CSU-ERFA Executive Committee and was very active in that capacity as well as in the formation of the CSU-ERFA Foundation and as Chair of the Grant Awards Committee for many years _______________________ Important Reminder re Medicare: California State University retirees, including those in the Faculty Early Retirement Program, are required by CalPERS to sign up for Medicare Parts A and B within six months of their 65th birthday.  This is not done automatically.  You may sign up either by visiting a Social Security Office or by using the online signup procedure.  (Note that the online signup can be used only if you are not simultaneously applying for Social Security retirement benefits.)  You may sign up as early as 90 days before your 65th birthday.  Note that you must sign up for Medicare Parts A and B even if you don't plan to collect Social Security retirement benefits until later. Do not sign up for Medicare part D.  Once your Medicare Parts A & B coverage begins, you should contact CalPERS to enroll in a Supplement to Medicare plan or a Medicare Advantage plan (note that CalPERS Medicare Advantage plans are not available in all areas).  The Supplement to Medicare plans are covered by your CalPERS health benefits.  The Medicare Advantage plans are covered by CalPERS in cooperation with Medicare. Both the traditional Supplement to Medicare plans and the Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug benefits that match or exceed those of Medicare Part D, so it's important that you don't sign up for Medicare Part D. If you choose a traditional CalPERS Supplement to Medicare plan, in most cases you will be reimbursed by CalPERS for all or part of your Medicare Part B premiums.  (This depends on the number of your family members receiving CalPERS health benefits and your income level.) CSU-ERFA members who need advice or further information about signing up for Medicare may call CSU-ERFA headquarters [(818) 718-7996] for assistance. _______________________

CSU-ERFA Members Alfred B. Evans (Fresno) and David Maciel (Dominguez Hills) have been awarded research grants from the CSU-ERFA Foundation during the 2011-12 grant cycle following approval of the Grant Awards Committee recommendations at the February 15, 2012 meeting of the CSU-ERFA Executive Committee. Evans was awarded $3,200 for his research "Protest in Russia: Extending or Replacing the Frame." Maciel received an $800 grant to support his study "The Contemporary Cinema of Mexico (1965-2012). The CSU-ERFA Grant Awards program is open to members in good standing seeking support for their research, scholarly, and creative activities.  See our Member Services page for guidelines and additional information. _______________________ Recently, some emeriti faculty found that they were not covered by the CSU system-wide license for the use of SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, now in widespread use both in corporate America and in academia, as a retired faculty member from CSU San Bernardino learned when he attempted to obtain the software from his campus. CSU-ERFA brought this issue to the attention of Associate Vice Chancellor Ron Vogel, who worked to have the CSU contract with SPSS extended to include emeriti faculty members who need to use SPSS in their research.  These efforts were successful; and, emeriti and retired faculty members now are eligible to use SPSS under the same terms and conditions as other faculty members on their respective CSU campuses. CSU-ERFA Executive Director Don Cameron said, "although probably a small number of CSU retired faculty utilize SPSS, those affected by the recent CSU action have been upset and vocal about the loss of access to this valuable tool in their research efforts. We should commend Associate Vice   Chancellor Ron Vogel and others at the Chancellor's Office who have responded quickly and positively on this issue." The extension of the use of SPSS to include retired/emeriti faculty covers the period through the end of the present contract with SPSS. Efforts are under way to include emeriti in the next contract. SPSS is one of several popular suites of software used to apply statistical analysis to quantitative data, such as surveys and demographic/economic data.  Depending on the the modules needed, the license fee for individual private use can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars per year.  However, under Board of Trustees policies, emeriti faculty members are considered continuing members of the faculty at their home campuses.  Thus, the extension of the system-wide site license to include use by emeriti faculty members is in accord with CSU policy. _______________________

 

January 2012

One of the problems of retirement is that it gives you more time to read about the problems of retirement. ~Author unknown.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported today (January 14, 2012) that State Senator Leland Yee (D, San Francisco) has introduced a bill, SB967, to limit the pay of California State University executives.  Under the Yee bill, CSU executives would not be able to receive pay raises within two years of a tuition increase or a year in which there was no increase in the CSU budget.  The Yee bill also would limit the pay of newly hired CSU executives.  Their pay could not exceed the pay of their predecessors by more than 5%. A bill introduced earlier in the current session, SB755, by State Senator Ted Lieu (D, Torrance) would limit the pay of CSU campus presidents to 150% of the pay of the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. _______________________

_______________________

 

November 2011

Don't play too much golf.  Two rounds a day are plenty.  ~Harry Vardon

The Los Angeles Times reported on Nov. 21, 2011 that the  California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that "health benefits for government retirees may not be eliminated if state and local governments had clearly promised workers those benefits."  This ruling grew out of a 2007 Orange County case, where the county had attempted to revamp the health care benefits for its retirees to save money.  The revised benefit program would have caused the health plan premiums for county retirees to increase substantially. The case now goes back to the federal appeals court for further adjudication. _______________________ We have received the following information from CalPERS regarding changes to pharmacy benefits for CalPERS Health Plan members that will take place on January 1, 2012.  Some changes apply to all people in CalPERS health plans.  Others apply only to the CalPERS self-funded PPO plans.  Please read this information carefully. If you have any questions or problems with your pharmacy benefits, please contact CalPERS first.  However, if you are unable to resolve the problem and you are a CSU-ERFA member do not hesitate to call CSU-ERFA headquarters for assistance. Press Release November 1, 2011 External Affairs Branch (916) 795-3991 Robert Udall Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer Brad Pacheco, Chief, Office of Public Affairs Contact: Bill Madison, Information Officer pressroom@calpers.ca.gov Pharmacy Benefit Changes for CalPERS Health Plan Members in 2012 SACRAMENTO, CA – Beginning January 1, 2012, CalPERS members will see a few changes in their health plan pharmacy benefits approved by the CalPERS Board of Administration earlier this year. One change is a “member pays the difference” requirement. Under this new rule, when a doctor prescribes a brand name drug – and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved generic equivalent is available – the member will pay the difference between the costs of the brand name and the generic drug. The member will also have to make the generic drug co-payment.

To use a hypothetical example, a doctor might write a prescription for a brand name drug for which a generic drug equivalent is available. The plan cost of a 30-day supply of the brand name drug is $100 and a 30-day supply of the generic drug is $15. The member preferring to use the brand name drug will pay the $85 difference plus the applicable $5 co-payment. The total cost to the member will be $90, versus $5, had the member selected the generic drug. A member may obtain an exception to the “member pays the difference” requirement if the prescribing physician provides thorough documentation that the member must use a brand medication and not the generic equivalent. Another change is that the co-payment for retail pharmacy purchases of brand name drugs will increase by $5. Furthermore, the co-payment for 90-day mail order prescriptions of brand name drugs will be standardized at double the co-payment of a 30-day retail subscription; this means that members can receive a 90-day supply of a maintenance medication through the mail for the same price of a 60-day supply purchased at a pharmacy. There will be no increase in the co-payment for generic drugs bought at retail pharmacies or through the mail. CalPERS Board members approved the increase in its members’ share of pharmacy benefits due in large part to the fact that CalPERS is below the median copayment for preferred drugs. In addition, the employer share of pharmacy costs has risen over the past several years, while the member share has decreased. The last CalPERS pharmacy benefits co-payment increase was in 2001. The new co-payment structure will result in an alignment that brings CalPERS portion of pharmacy benefit costs to about half of where they were when the last co-payment increase occurred. In June, the CalPERS Board of Administration awarded CVS Caremark the contract as the new Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) for CalPERS self-funded Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans. CVS Caremark will replace the current PBM, Medco, in January 2012. PPO members will have a new option of obtaining 90-day supplies of maintenance medications at a CVS retail pharmacy. CVS Caremark’s “Maintenance Choice Program” allows a member to enjoy same-day prescription availability and to talk face-to-face with a pharmacist while paying a low mail-order co-payment. More information on CVS Caremark and the transition of PBM services is available online at www.caremark.com/calpers. CalPERS is the largest purchaser of public employee health benefits in California, and the second largest public purchaser in the nation after the federal government. CalPERS provides health benefits to more than 1.3 million State and public agency active and retired members at an annual cost of nearly $7 billion. For more information on CalPERS, please visit www.calpers.ca.gov. ### Dated: 11-01-2011 _______________________

 

October 2011

Q. How many retirees does it take to change a light bulb? A. Only one, but it might take him or her two or three days. ~Author unknown.

CSU-ERFA State Council approves Executive Director search.  Under CSU-ERFA policy a search for the position of Executive Director must be held at least once every four years.  The CSU-ERFA State Council approved the position announcement for this office at its October 15, 2011 meeting in San Jose. The consideration of applications for this position will begin on January 2, 2012.  Anyone interested in applying for this opening should read the position announcement, which is available here. _______________________